Daqing Reborn Prince, Intercepting Si Lili at the Beginning

Chapter 27: The Poetry Gathering Begins! The Farce Outside Shixin Gate!

As the capital of the Qing Kingdom, the cultural atmosphere in the city of Kyoto was naturally exceptional. Almost every day, there were poetry or literary gatherings held in the city. The scholars and literati in Kyoto had long since become indifferent to such events. However, today’s poetry gathering was different!

This poetry gathering was hosted by the Third Prince, Li Chengyuan.

Ever since the last newspaper publicized Li Chengyuan’s poem Die Lian Hua and his slender gold script, Li Chengyuan had become one of the hottest talents in Kyoto. Some people even said he was the future of the kingdom’s literary destiny. However, due to his few works, his reputation lacked substantial support.

Despite this, all the city’s literati and scholars flocked to him, eager to determine whether Li Chengyuan was truly talented or simply plagiarizing others’ works, creating a false image of himself.

Thus, this poetry gathering at the Li County King’s residence had an unprecedentedly large scale. It could be said to be the largest poetry gathering in the Qing Kingdom in recent years in terms of participation.

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Early in the morning, the area outside Shixin Gate was packed with people and carriages. These people were mostly commoners of Kyoto who did not receive invitations to the poetry gathering. Although they had no qualification to enter, they still came to join in the excitement.

Initially, they wanted to gather outside the Li County King’s residence, but they all ended up outside Shixin Gate. Beyond Shixin Gate was where the residences of the city’s high-ranking officials and nobles were located. Many princes and dukes lived there!

In other words, to live inside Shixin Gate, one had to be at least a titled earl.

The guards at Shixin Gate dared not let commoners inside for fear that a few assassins might slip in, potentially disturbing the nobility inside, which could lead to serious consequences.

Fortunately, the area outside Shixin Gate was large enough to accommodate the crowd. Many clever vendors had even come early to set up their stalls, making the usually quiet area unusually lively today.

Before long, the first person with a poetry gathering invitation arrived.

After showing his invitation to the guards, he proudly walked through the gate under the envious and jealous gazes of the onlookers.

After the first, the second soon followed.

Gradually, more and more people arrived to attend the gathering, and the crowd outside Shixin Gate grew larger.

To maintain order, officials from the Censorate, the Metropolitan Court, and Kyoto’s city government all rushed to the scene. There were even secret guards from the imperial army watching over the situation.

This had truly become a grand occasion.

As a result, more and more people looked toward the Li County King’s residence inside Shixin Gate with longing and envy.

“Sigh… too bad we don’t have the status!”

“That’s right! Everyone attending this poetry gathering is either high-ranking or noble!”

“Look at those who have passed through: the son of the Minister of Rites, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Personnel, and the daughter of the Kyoto City Prefect. Every single one of them comes from an important family!”

“You all should stop talking. With our status, no matter how good our writing is, it’s useless. Let me tell you, my cousin’s husband’s brother’s son works at the Jing Wang residence. According to him, the poems and articles we submitted weren’t even looked at. They first look at your status and address! If your status and address don’t qualify, no matter how well your poem is written, they won’t even glance at it!”

“Really? Is that true? But isn’t it said that the Third Prince values talent?”

“Haha, you’re too naive. He’s a prince, after all. Even if he loves talent, it’s the talent of noble scions that he values. What does that have to do with us common folk?”

“Brother, you’re wrong to say that!” Suddenly, someone interrupted the man’s words.

The speaker glanced at the one who interrupted him and saw a poor scholar. He scoffed, “Oh? And what’s your take?”

“You said just now that the Third Prince only shows humility to the nobility. What proof do you have?”

“Proof? Haha, the proof is that none of the people attending the poetry gathering are commoners!”

“Then what is this?” The poor scholar suddenly pulled out an invitation from his sleeve.

The man was stunned. He hadn’t expected this poor scholar to actually produce an invitation.

Feeling embarrassed, the man tried to save face, “Hmph, who knows where you got that fake invitation. Do you think I’d believe it?”

“Then take a closer look!” The poor scholar said nothing more and headed toward Shixin Gate.

Immediately, all eyes in the vicinity turned toward him. Everyone was curious to see if this man could actually get in.

If he could, it would mean that this poetry gathering wasn’t just for the nobility, and that commoners truly had a chance! It would also prove that the Third Prince genuinely promoted talent without regard to status.

In full view of the crowd, the poor scholar walked confidently to the gate and handed his invitation to the guards.

After inspecting the invitation, the guard asked, “What’s your name?”

The poor scholar respectfully cupped his hands and said, “Student… Yang Wanli!”

“Yang Wanli?” The guard looked over at the register.

The registrar nodded, “He’s on the list!”

The guard nodded as well and gestured, “You may enter.”

“Thank you!” Yang Wanli let out a long breath.

He had been worried that his invitation might be fake, but now he was relieved to be let in.

It seems that the old man from that day really was the Third Prince’s man, Yang Wanli thought, growing even more excited about the poetry gathering.

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Watching Yang Wanli walk through the gate, the man who had spoken earlier suddenly felt all eyes on him. He was deeply embarrassed, but he still refused to give up, arguing, “What are you all looking at? So what if he got in? Who knows if he’s just some noble’s son in disguise? And even if he really is a poor scholar, it’s just dumb luck. That doesn’t prove me wrong!”

However, before his words could settle, more poor scholars arrived at Shixin Gate, holding invitations and entering one after another.

In fact, these people had been here for a while. They were just intimidated by the large crowd and worried that their invitations might be fake, so none of them dared to go in first. After seeing Yang Wanli enter, they finally gained confidence and followed suit.

In no time, five or six more poor scholars walked into Shixin Gate, holding invitations.

Now, with the truth laid bare, the man could no longer argue. He could only cover his face with his sleeve and slink away in shame.

As he left, the atmosphere outside became even more lively.

In fact, no one had paid much attention to this issue before he raised it. But because of his antics, everyone now realized just how broad-minded and humble the Third Prince truly was!

Many people began saying that the Third Prince was indeed the future of the kingdom’s literary destiny. Just based on his respect for talent, he was someone worth admiring.

Thus, without him even knowing, Li Chengyuan’s prestige among the scholars and literati was raised yet another level!

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